Nozzle for liquid extraction apparatus



June 11, 1968 v. c. MANDARINO, JR. ET AL 3,387,385

NOZZLE FOR LIQUID EXTRACTION APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 I5 $heets-$heet l 7 ogg 2a 275 24 2/ m GOLD 22 m. NLETM V5 r 9 CYLINDER \J DRIVE 46 33 SEPARATOR \L 34\ =5 3 June 11, 1968 V. C. MANDARINO, JR.. ET AL NOZZLE FOR LIQUID EXTRACTION APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 June 11, 1968 v, MANDARINO, JR. ET AL 3,387,385

NOZZLE FOR LIQUID EXTRACTION APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 United States Patent 3,387,335 LIQUID EXTRACTION PPARATUS Vincent C. Mandarino, Jr., and Leo H. Salter, St. Joseph,

Micl1., assignors to Whirlpool Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 500,829 (Ilairns. (Cl. 34-133) NOZZLE FOR A ABSTRAJCT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to liquid extraction apparatus and particularly to a suction nozzle structure that is used to draw fluid through the perforate periphery of a rotatable drum as in a laundry machine wherein the nozzle is mounted on yieldable means for accommodating movement of the nozzle toward and away from the drum and wherein means are provided on the nozzle for urging the nozzle away from the drum upon contact with foreign objects projecting through the perforate periphery of the drum.

As is disclosed in the copending application of Lachat et al., Ser. N0. 327,874, filed Nov. 27, 1963, now Patent No. 3,257,736, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, it has been proposed to utilize a suction nozzle bearing against the perforate periphery of a rotatable drum as in a combination washer-dryer to draw fluid from clothing Within the drum through its periphery. During the extracting and drying portions of the cycle the fluid will be moisture from the clothes, both liquid and vapor, and heated air containing moisture vapor.

One of the features of this invention is to provide a nozzle having yieldable means biasing the nozzle against the drum periphery and means engageable by a foreign object projecting from the drum at the periphery thereof to move the nozzle away from the drum.

A further feature of the invention is to provide such an apparatus wherein the nozzle is automatically moved out of contact with the periphery of the drum by a projecting object and is maintained out of contact when the nozzle is moved greater than a preselected distance away from the periphery.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following discription of certain embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic view of a washendryer laundry device having a rotatable drum and a nozzle embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating one embodiment of the nozzle structure of this invention.

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but illustrating another embodiment of the invention and with the nozzle being shown in side elevation rather than in section.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the structure of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but illustrating a further embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the structure of FIGURE 5 but omitting: the electrically operated solenoid of FIGURE 5.

The schematic view of FIGURE 1 shows a combination washer-dryer setting for the nozzle of this invention. The structure comprises a rotatable drum It} having a perforate metal periphery II. The drum is rotated by an electric motor 12 having a shaft 13 projecting from each end thereof. The shaft at one end drives a. belt 14 which rotates the drum to and the shaft at the other end drives a turbine pump 15. The pump is provided with an inlet 16 and an outlet 17 leading to a drain as indicated,

The drum It) is rotatable in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow 18. The drum is contained within a housing or tank 19. The apparatus is supplied with water through an inlet mixing valve 2% provided with a hot water line 21 and a cold water line 22. Leading from the valve 20 is a water line 23 that empties into a detergent dispenser 24. Leading from this dispenser 24 is a liquid line 25 emptying into the tank 19 at 26. There is also provided a rinse conditioner dispenser 27 and a bleach dispenser 28. These are connected to the tank 19 by lines 29 and 36, respectively.

At the bottom of the tank 19 at the lowest point therein is a sump 31 having an exit controlled by a solenoid operated valve 32 with the sump leading to a button trap 33 adapted to trap and remove small foreign objects from the exit liquid line. The trap 33 is connected to the pump inlet line 16 by means of a liquid line 34.

The apparatus includes a motor operated suction blower 35 that has an inlet passage 36 that is connected to a fluid separator 3'7 adjacent the bottom of the apparatus for separating the entrapped water, suds and lint from air. This separator communicates by way of a passage 38 with a suds trap 39. This suds trap 39 in turn communicates with a nozzle to that bears against the periphery of the rotatable drum 10.

The suction blower 35 has an outlet passage 41 that empties into the tank 19 so that the passage 41 communicates with the perforate periphery of the drum 10. Located in this exit passage 41 is an electric heater 42.

The cold water inlet line 22 is provided with a branch 43 leading to the suds trap 39 with cold water flowing through the line 43 being controlled by a valve 44.

The operation of the machine is under the control of a conventional sequential control 45 diagrammatically shown in FIGURE 1 as controlling motor 12. It will be understood that sequential control 45 also controls the operation of other electrical components of the machine in a conventional manner well known to those skilled in the art.

During the operation of the combination washer-dryer shown in FIGURE 1 Water enters through inlet valve 20 and flows through line 23 through the detergent dispenser 24. It picks up the detergent in this dispenser and the mixture flows through line 25 into the tank 19 at 26 and from there into the perforated drum 1t) and wets the clothes (not shown) therein. At the same time water is added through valve 44 and line 43 to fill suds trap 39 and operate as a suds block through the washing cycle. After a predetermined amount of water has flowed through the valve 20 the valve closes. The clothes are tumbled by rotating the drum 10 for a predetermined time sufiicient to complete a washing operation. At the end of this time the solenoid operated valve 32 is energized to open position as shown in FIGURE 1 to drain the drum 1%] and tank 19.

After tank 19 has been drained, inlet valve 20 is again opened to provide rinse water through the detergent dispenser 24 to rinse remaining detergent therefrom and from there into the tank 19 and thus into the rotating drum It). This rinse water passes through the clothes or fabric within the rotating drum 16, through sump 31 by way of the open energized valve 32, through the trap 33 and through liquid lines 34 and 16 to the pump where it is exhausted through the outlet drain line 17.

At the end of a predetermined rinse time such as 10 minutes the inlet valve 26 is closed and the suction blower 35 is operated at high speed such as 18,500 rpm. to create high air flow through the washer-dryer apparatus. The high air flow through the fluid system continues until such time as clothes within the drum 1% fall to a point on the drum periphery covering the perforations communicating the drum with the suction nozzle 40. This in effect seals or blocks the fluid flow path for air through the system. With the flow path blocked, a high vacuum is created in that portion of the fluid fiow path between the nozzle and the suction blower 35, due to the rapid evacuation of air therein by suction blower 35. This high vacuum extracts Water from the clothes in the rotating perforated drum 1a with this extracted water passing through the perforated drum and through the nozzle 40 into the suds trap 39.

From the suds trap 39 the moisture and air pass to the separator 37 where non-vapor material such as Water and lint is separated from the air which then returns to the blower 35 by way of the inlet passage 36. The blower then recirculates this air past the heater 4-2 and through the drum M9. The non-vapor material from the separator 37 is pumped out through an outlet 46 in the separator by pump 15. During the extraction portion of the machine cycle the heater 42 is energized and cold water is introduced through valve 44 into line 43 and from there into the suds trap 39. The cold water entering the suds trap 39 at the entrance thereof, as shown in FIG- URE 1, condenses water vapor from the air, thereby providing a drying operation concurrently with the extraction operation.

During a subsequent drying portion of the cycle the suction blower 35 is operated at a lower speed such as 12,060 r.p.m., the heaters 42 remain energized and water continues to enter suds trap 39 by way of line 43. The condensing thereupon continues with the mixture of air, liquid and lint passing into the separator 37 and the separated air flowing back to the blower 35 as previously described. This separated air is of course recirculated by the blower 35 and heated by the heaters 42. This constitutes a continuous closed cycle with no venting to the exterior being required because of the continual condensing and separating with outward flow through the outlet 46 of extracted water, condensate and lint. When a gas heater is used, the conduit 41 is broken and the exhaust from blower 35 is vented to the outside in a conventional manner.

The apparatus of this invention uses a nozzle of which various embodiments are shown in FIGURES 26. In the embodiment of FIGURE 2 the nozzle 40 has an open flared mouth 48 in frictional engagement with the outer surface of the perforate periphery 11 of the rotatable drum 10. The nozzle 40 is made of a rigid plastic material having a relatively low coefiicient of friction, such as nylon. The nozzle extends through an opening 49 in the tank 19 and is mounted for movement toward and away from the periphery 11 on a flexible bellows 50 of rubber or the like.

The nozzle 40 is urged or biased toward the drum periphery 11 when in contact therewith by a yieldable biasing means which is here shown as an over center leaf spring 51 having its ends held in brackets 52 and 53 mounted on the tank 19.

When in the solid line position shown in FIGURE 2, the yieldable leaf spring 51 biases the nozzle 44! against the periphery 11 of drum It Means are provided for moving the nozzle away from the periphery to the dotted line position when an object is encountered projecting from the periphery of the drum 10 such as the nail 54.

In the embodiment of FIGURE 2 this means is embodied in a cam or ramp-like surface portion on the leading edge of the nozzle 40 or the edge that would first encounter the nail 54. When the projecting object or nail 54 contacts the cam surface 45 it forces the nozzle 40 away from the periphery 11.

The ramp-like surface portion 55 provides a means for gradually camming the nozzle away from the drum, which avoids sudden shocks to the apparatus. In addition, it is possible that certain foreign objects will be urged back into the drum by the cam surface. This is particularly the case when the object is projecting through the periphery of the drum for only a short distance. When the distance of movement of the nozzle exceeds the over center position of the leaf spring 51 this spring then snaps the nozzle 40 away from the periphery 11 and retains it there in the position indicated by the broken lines. The drum can then be stopped and the object 54 removed. If desired, the stopping of the drum may be done automatically as by a limit switch of the type shown at 56 in the embodiment of FIGURE 3 to stop the operation of the motor 12. Where such a limit switch is used in the embodiment of FIGURE 2 it may be operated by stop 57. In order to stop machine operation, limit switch 56 may be placed in the motor circuit by sequential control 45. The switch is placed in series with the motor and when actuated breaks the circuit to the motor. This relationship is shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 3.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 3 and 4 the nozzle at) is of similar construction to that of the embodiment of FIGURE 2 and is biased against the drum periphery 11 by means of a generally 'U-shaped wire spring 58 having one end engaging the nozzle 41 and the base end retained in a bracket 59. The U-shaped wire spring 58 engages the nozzle through a pair of inwardly extending end portions 47, 47 held in spaced parallel brackets 61 mounted on opposite sides of the nozzle 40. When the nozzle 46 has been moved away tom the periphery 11 in the manner described previously the limit switch 56 is actuated by means of its plunger engaging one leg of U- shaped wire spring 58 to stop the motor 12.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 5 and 6 the dotted line positions of the parts is the normal position, in other words, the nozzle 41 is normally held out of contact with the periphery 11 of the drum 10. Thus, as indicated by the broken lines the retracted position of the nozzle is maintained by an outwardly biasing W-shaped spring 62 that has one end mounted on a bracket 63 on the tank 19 and the opposite end 64 arranged adjacent the nozzle 49 and on opposite sides of the outer end thereof. These opposite ends 64 bear outwardly against the spaced ends 65 of a U-shaped lever wire 66. The ends 65 are held in spaced parallel brackets 67 mounted on opposite sides of the nozzle 40.

The base 68 of the lever wire 66 is rotatably mounted on a bracket 69 attached to the tank 19. This base 68 has a transverse section 70 between the sides of the bracket 69 and is provided with a raised portion 71. This raised portion 71 is attached to one end of a helical spring 72 whose other end engages the movable armature 73 of an electric solenoid 74.

When the solenoid 74 is de-energized the spring 62 is in the broken line position shown in FIGURE 5 thereby retracting the nozzle 40 to the broken line position. When the solenoid 74 is energized the armature '73 moves to the right as shown in FIGURE 5 to the solid line position and the end of the spring 72 being attached to the support portion 71 rotates the lever wire 66 about the brackets 69 to the solid line position. In this position the nozzle 44 is yieldably retained against the drum periphery 11 by force exerted by the solenoid through the spring 72. Objects protruding through the periphery of the drum move the nozzle shown in FIGURE 5 away from the drum against the bias of spring 72 in the same manner as in the embodiment of FIGURES 2 and 3.

The nozzle shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 is preferred for use in gas combination washer-dryers. In gas combination washer-dryers it is essential that adequate air flow be maintained through the system in order to ensure complete combustion of gas during the drying operation. As hereinbefore explained, in connection with the extraction operation, the fabrics being tumbled Within drum 1 1 periodically block air flow through the nozzle 40. With the nozzle blocked by fabrics there is little or no air flow through the system and thus an unsafe condition may result in washer-dryers using gas heat during the drying operation. To alleviatee this problem the nozzle of FIGURES 5 and 6 is arranged to be in engagement with the drum 11 only during the extraction operation. .During all other machine operations the nozzle is biased away from the drum and cannot be blocked by fabrics being tumbled within the drum.

In addition to alleviating the gas combustion problem, it may be desirable to provide high 'air flow in order to avoid overheating of the entire apparatus. Since heat is carried away from the heating means for the Washerdryer primarily by the air circulated through the system, it is essential that the air flow be adequate to cool the heating means as heat is generated therein.

As can be seen from. the above description, the apparatus of this invention provides a nozzle which when in engagement with the rotating drum is biased by yieldable means against the drum. Damage to the equipment is prevented by providing automatic means for moving the nozzle away from the drum on engagement of the nozzle with an object projecting from the drum.

In the embodiments of FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 the normal position of the nozzle is against the drum. In the embodiment of FIGURES 5 and 6 the normal position of the nozzle is out of engagement with the drum 'and is only brought into engagement therewith during fluid extracting portions of the operating cycle. This provides adequate air flow for complete gas consumption in gas combination washer-dryers and also reduces frictional wear on the nozzle as well as on the drum itself as unnecessary engagement of the drum and nozzle is prevented. It also provides adequate air flow for cooling the apparatus and reduces drag which adds to power consumption.

Having described our invention 'as related to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings, it is our intention that the invention be not limited by any of the details of description, unless otherwise specified, but rather be construed broadly within its spirit and scope as set out in the accompanying claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined 'as follows:

1. Liquid extraction apparatus, comprising: a rotatable drum having a perforate periphery; a suction nozzle positioned adjacent said perforate periphery and adapted to bear thereagainst; means for rotating said drum relative to said nozzle, said nozzle having a leading edge with respect to the direction of rotation of said drum; yieldable means biasing said nozzle against said perforate periphery; and cam means on said nozzle leading edge engageable by an object projecting from said periphery to move said nozzle away from said drum.

2. Liquid extraction apparatus, comprising: a rotat able drum having a perforate periphery; a suction nozzle positioned adjacent said perforate periphery and adapted to bear thereagainst; means for rotating said drum relative to said nozzle; over center yieldable means biasing said nozzle against said perforate periphery; and means on said nozzle engageable by an object projecting from said perforate periphery to move said nozzle away from said drum to a position beyond the center of said over center yieldable means whereby said over center yieldable means thereupon urges said nozzle away from said perforate periphery.

3. Liquid extraction apparatus, comprising: a rotatable drum having a perforate periphery; a suction nozzle positioned adjacent said perforate periphery and adapted to bear thereagainst; drive means for rotating said drum relative to said nozzle; yieldable means biasing said nozzle against said perforate periphery; means on said nozzle engageable with objects carried by fabrics placed within said drum and projecting through said perforate periphery for moving said nozzle away from said drum; and means controlling said drive means and operable upon movement of said nozzle a predetermined distance away from said drum by said objects for stopping rotation of said drum.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein said drive means is electrically operated.

5. Liquid extraction apparatus, comprising: a rotatable drum having a perforate periphery; a suction nozzle positioned adjacent said perforate periphery and adapted to bear thereagainst; means for rotating said drum relative to said nozzle; first yieldable means biasing said nozzle out of contact with said perforate periphery; energizable means for selectively moving said nozzle into contact with said perforate periphery against the bias of said first yieldable means; second yieldable means for accommodating movement of said nozzle away from said perforate periphery when said nozzle is in contact with said perforate periphery; and means on said nozzle engage able by objects projecting through said perforate periphery to move said nozzle away from said drum against the bias of said second yieldable means.

References @ited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,676,418 4/1954 Shewmon 34---131 X 2,758,461 8/1956 Tann.

2,884,710 5/1959 Smith 34--133 3,050,975 8/1962 Finder 34--133 X 3,257,736 6/1966 Lachat et al. 34-133 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,022,966 12/1952 France.

CHARLES I. MYHRE, Primary Examiner. 

